Page 36 of Unconventionally, Elle

Barrett walked over to his mother and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. I couldn't hear what he said, but he muttered something to her, and a tiny smile appeared for just a second. She reached for his arm and gave a quick squeeze. I saw her mouth, I love you.

Harold walked us out of the dining room and toward the heavy front door.

"Harold, I'm sorry." Barrett turned and hugged the old butler.

I noticed Harold had a tear in his eye and hugged Barrett back, a firm and loving embrace--a father's embrace.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Harold," I offered before he opened the door for us.

He looked to me with warm eyes and a soft smile. "No, Miss Elle, the pleasure is sincerely all mine. Take care of my boy."

Barrett and I walked out into the frigid night air. It felt like escaping an enemy's castle. We walked across the stone path and fled back to the safety of our own kingdom.

Once in the car and on our way, I turned to Barrett, who was staring blankly at the road in front of us.

"Harold?" I asked.

He immediately picked up on my question. "Yeah, he was always around for Em and me. He's more of a father than the other man you had the pleasure of meeting tonight." Anger laced his words, and as we passed under a light, I noticed his cheeks were wet.

"Hey, B?"

"Mm?" he hummed back.

"I love you, like a lot." I smiled in the dark and placed my hand on the back of his neck, twirling his thick hair between my fingers. He released a deep sigh and let his body relax under my touch.

"I love when you touch me," he moaned as my fingers massaged his neck.

"I love to touch you," I replied low and sweet. "You know you always have a choice, right?" I asked seriously.

His sigh was long, and the tension returned to his neck and shoulders.

"You do, Elle. I'll make sure you always have a choice.

" He grabbed my hand and placed his cheek in my open palm.

"But I don't. My choices were made a long time ago.

The best choice I ever made, though, was sitting next to you at that Pats game and pretending I'd never seen you before. " I felt his cheek lift with a smile.

"I mean, I will say this. Leaving Marrrrgaret wasn't a bad choice either," I teased.

He let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, well, actually, she left me. But you're right, not going back when she asked was another good choice." He took my hand and held it on the center console.

"She wanted you back?" I asked, curious. "You've never really mentioned your relationship with her."

"There's not much to tell. We dated for a couple years, but I never truly loved her. My parents did, though. They really loved Margaret, especially because her father is a senator and her family was here during the Revolutionary War as well."

"A real OG Boston family," I whispered.

"Yeah, my parents enjoy comparing social status, in case you missed that part at dinner." He turned his head and smirked.

"So, okay, she wanted you back. When was that?" I wasn't mad, just curious.

"Right when you and I started dating, actually."

My eyes went wide, but he couldn't see them in the dark.

"Emma told me that Margaret had asked about me in the office. Emma really loves you and said that you and I were 'talking'--whatever that means." He laughed softly. "In my mind, all I could think about was you."

"Oh, B." I laughed. "You're such a noble man."

"Right, well, Margaret texted me later that day. I'd had a heads-up, though, because Em called me right after Margaret left her office."

"Dear God. You know, I don't talk to Margaret that often in the office when I'm in there. She does her thing and I do mine." I shook my head. "I didn't think she was so, so..."

"Manipulative? Passive-aggressive? Entitled? Pick one," he said. "Anyway, she called me and, after bitching me out for God knows what, begged me to get back together. It was the same emotional roller coaster we'd experienced in our relationship."

I rubbed my thumb on his palm, encouraging him to continue.

"I told her no. I wouldn't do it anymore. We were over and I was finally happy... with you."

"I'm happy with me too," I joked and let a smile show. "No, seriously, I'm so happy with you."

"Good--otherwise, sitting on the couch and watching a replay of the game with Louie in our laps would be very, very awkward."

I laughed along with him, then fell quiet. We had to talk about the dinner. "Hey, B?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"That dinner was rough." My voice was cautious; I didn't want to overstep any more than I might have already.

"That's the understatement of the century." He laughed. "But you know what?"

"What?"

"Watching you put my dad in his place made me harder than you can even imagine."

I rolled my eyes. Hard? "Oh my God, Barrett!"

"Elle Watson, you are one sexy firecracker when someone upsets you. If you ever need to pretend you're mad at me in bed, I won't hate it." His deep chuckle made a warm sensation spread through my core.

I leaned over the center console and whispered into his right ear, "Not a problem, Mr. Henry."